Corpus Christi’s Northside

A first-of-its-kind civil rights, fair housing and environmental justice agreement has been reached in Corpus Christi, Texas, in response to decades of mistreatment of a historic African-American neighborhood.

The Texas Department of Transportation plans to relocate and rebuild Corpus Christi’s Harbor Bridge, but the route selected by state and city leaders cuts directly through the neighborhoods of Hillcrest and Washington-Coles on the city’s north side, historically home to large African-American populations due to redlining and Jim Crow era segregation. This community, surrounded by heavy industrial sites, Interstate 37, the Port of Corpus Christi and a wastewater treatment plant, is already disproportionately burdened by the city’s pollution, hazards and noise. The bridge will not only bring more noise and pollution to these disinvested neighborhoods, but will effectively isolate the Northside neighborhoods from the residential part of the city.

We are proud to stand with Northside residents in this historic victory, and will continue to work with them to monitor the implementation and enforcement of this agreement. We previously produced a short documentary featuring residents and community advocates explaining the history of segregation and discrimination on the Northside and the need for mitigation of the bridge project:

Dr. Debbie Niemeier, a professor and environmental expert at the University of California, Davis, has been studying the air quality and health consequences of the Harbor Bridge proposal. In this video, she presents her findings on the benzene dangers to which residents could be exposed: